MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. Russia’s preparations for drills to rehearse the use of tactical nuclear weapons have caused a "scare effect" in Western countries, said Federation Council Defense and Security Committee First Deputy Chairman Vladimir Chizhov.

"I think that the purpose of this event is, of course, to cool heads and I think that in this respect the task of these exercises will be achieved, because judging even by the first statements, the first reaction both in the United States and in the countries of Western Europe, what we are observing there, is basically, a certain scare effect," the senator said on Rossiya-24 television.

"They have always assumed that Russia's possession of nuclear weapons is a purely political factor that has no practical significance. But now they will know that it has practical significance," he went on to say.

Chizhov insisted that the drills do not mean "the Russian side is ready or intends to use these weapons immediately."

"Our defense doctrine very clearly spells out the instances in which the use of nuclear weapons is possible," the lawmaker said.

The Russian Defense Ministry earlier said the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces had begun preparations for drills that will involve missile units in the Southern Military District, aircraft and the Navy, and rehearse the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons. The ministry also said that the exercises are a response, among other things, to provocative statements and threats from certain Western officials.